Regulating-switch for storage batteries.



J. H. GUGLER & M. LINDEM.

RBGULATING SWITCH PoR STORAGE BATTERIES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.11, 1911.

1,123,275. Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

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@wwwmwm ummiqllmmqlpllnnn J. H. GUGLBR L M. LINDEM.

REGULATING SWITCH FOR STORAGE BATTERIES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. Il. 1911. 1,123,275. Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

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WMA/mow THE NoRRls PETERS C0.. PHOFQ-LITr-lcr.A WASHINGTON. D. C

NTED STATES PATENT FFCE.

TULIUS H. GUGLER AND liARTIN LINDEM, OF .WIILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN; SAID LINDEIE ASSIGNOR TO SAID GUGLER.

REGULATING-SWITCH FOR STORAGE BATTERIES.

Application filed November 11` 1911.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, JULiUs H. GUGLER and MARTIN LINDEM, both ot' Milwaukee, Wisconsin, have invented a Regulating- Switch for Storage Batteries, of which the following is a specification.

llhis invention relates to storage batteries, and more particularly a means for controlling the end-cells, which are used for regulating the electric potential in charging and discharging the batteries. As is well-known regulating-switches have to be provided for cutting in and out successive end-cells of the battery in order to keep it constant according as its condition of charge varies, and on account of the resistance of the battery a slightly higher voltage is necessary in charging than in discharging.

It is the object of our invention to provide means for facilitating this operation, and particularly for regulating the charging of the end-cells, whereby they shall not be overworked relatively to the rest of the battery.

A further object of the invention is to combine in a single switch functions of two or three ordinary switches.

The principle of our invention consists in disposing two or sometimes three contactarms to operate on a single series of contactpieces, to which the several end-cells of the battery are respectively connected, said contact-arms, or two of them where three are employed, being connected respectively with the charging and discharging-circuits.

Another feature of our invention consists in providing means for limiting the movement of one or" said arms with respect to another.

Ou r invention may be embodied in a great many forms, of which several have been illustrated more or less schematically in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 shows the simplest form of my apparatus, providing merely for two independent contact-arms on the saine set of contact pieces; Fig. 2 shows a form in which one of the contact-arms is limited in its movements on both sides of the other; Fig. 3 shows a form in which one of the arms is limited with respect to the other in one direction only; 4 is a cross-section on the plane 4 of Fig. 3 to illustrate a detail ot construction; Fig. 5 shows a construction similar to that of Fig. 8, with the exception that the limit for the discharging arm is Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

serial No. 659,6954

spaced at two end-cells behind the charging arm; Fig. 6 shows an alternative form in which our apparatus may be constructed, providing for two arms which work on dit'- erent sets of contact-pieces, but upon the same center, and are limited with respect to each other; Fig. 7 shows a regulatingswitch having three contact-arms, together with a mode of connecting the same which provides for the use of a booster-dynamo for the end cells; Fig. 8 shows in front view the details of a mechanical construction Yfor intei-locking the two arms with respect to one another in various positions; Fig. 9 shows a longitudinal section of said construction; Fig. 10 is a front view of a three-arm construction as shown in Fig. 7 having the detail arrangement of the arms shown in Figs. 8 and 9, and Fig. 11 is a longitudinal section of said construction with the three arms in alinement.

The reference letters refer each to the same part in each Figure of the drawings.

Considering first the form of apparatus shown in Fig. l, G may designate the prime source of current, usually a dynamo and hereinafter termed the generator, B the storage-battery provided with a number ot movable end-cells and Lthe service-circuit, inrwhich are represented for the sake of illustration lamps 1. The generator, battery and lamp-circuit are all connected together at one pole, viz: the right-hand end, as shown in Fig. 1, by leads 11, 12 and 13. They are interconnected at their other poles by means of the regulating-switch, which forms the subject of this invention, and which comprises two arms C and D, turning upon a single pivot at E and making electrical Contact with any of a series of contactpieces A, disposed concentrically aro-und said pivot as shown, and connected to the respective end-cells by leads 14. The arms are insulated from each other at the pivot as indicated by the insulation e. One of said arms C, which may be called the chargingarm, is connected with the free pole of the generator G by a lead 15, and the other D, which may be called the discharging-aim, with the free pole of the lamp-circuit L by a lead 1G, and each arm may be provided with a suitable handle c, d, the arm C being prolonged beyond its pivot, to enable said handie to be applied without interfering with the relative movement of the two arms, these being independent in this case. While the charging-arm will usually be kept some cells in advance of the discharging-arm, yet this arrangement enables the operator to set the arms to include any number of cells in both the charging and discharging-circuits, each independently of the other. Stop-pins are placed at a to limit the movements of the arms to the arc of contact.

Fig. 2 shows a. switch similar in general form to that of Fig. 1, provided with t-he two arms C', D, turning about the pivot E. and making contact with the contact-pieces A (the connections in this case being omitted, as they are the same as before) g but in this case the arm D is limited to a position two cells in advance of the arm C, and three cells in arrear thereof; said limitation being provided by any of various known mechanical means, such for example as the shiftinghandle el', disposed upon one side of a flattened extension Z2 on the arm D, which strikes against the side of the arm C in one limiting-position, and an insulated pin cl3 on the other side, which strikes against the side of the arm C in the other limiting-position, as shown by the dotted-line position of the arm D; this prevents too great or too small a number of end-cells from being used for charging, which are not used in discharging.

In Fig. 3 the arrangements are substantially the same as in Fig. 1, as indicated by the reference letters, with the exception that for the two arms C and D are substituted arms C2, D2; the latter being limited in its advance movement to the position occupied by the arm C2, whereby it is provided that no end-cell shall at any time be used for discharging which is not also being charged. This may be accomplished by means of a goose-neck d4 applied to one side of the arm D2, and extending over the body thereof, and having the shifting-handle d5 on the end thereof; this arrangement is convenient,

because it keeps the shifting-handle in the center of the arm. Insulation d is of course provided at the point where the goose-neck y d4 abuts upon the arm c2 to prevent electrical communication.

In Fig. 5 the same construction is used except as regards the limiting position of the discharging with respectto the charging-arm. The two arms are here designated C3, D3, provided with shifting-handles c', (ll. On one side of the arm D3, and offset from the center line thereof by the requisite space, is an insulated-pin Z8 adapted to abut upon the side of the arm C3, and prevent the advance of the arm D beyond a position two end-cells in arrears of the latter, thus leaving always at least this number of extra cells which are being charged. In some cases it may be desirable to preserve this relation between the two arms constantly during ordinary operation, and for this purpose, we may provide a locking-piece or catch c2 mounted on a pin c3, and adapted to engage upon the pin d8, and retain the same; so that it is necessary in regulating tliedvoltage to move only one of the handles c, 7.

In Fig. 6 in place of a single series of contact-pieces A, we provide two series A2,

A3 arranged concentrically about a single pivot E, and two arms C4, D4t turning on said pivot and insulated from each other as shown, said arms making contact with the respective sets of contact-pieces; one of said arms has a rearward extension c, carrying an insulated stop-pin c5, which striking against the side of the arm D4 limits the position of the latter to one end-cell in arrear of its own position; of course, by shifting the position of the pin c5 any other limiting relation between the two arms may be provided for. Semicircular metal contact arcs F, G are here shown to provide means for connecting the respective arms with the generator and discharge-circuits respectively by means of the leads 15 and 1G; and a stop-pin H is placed so as to limit the movements of the two arms to their respective semicircular arcs. As will be seen by the connecting-leads 17, the diametrically opposite contact-pieces A2 and A3 of each set are connected together in pairs, and both to the respective end-cells b by leads 18.

In Fig. 7 we have shown how our improved regulating-switch may be used for booster-regulation of the end-cells. In this case we have provided three arms I, J and K insulated from each other upon the pivot E2 as shown, and making contact with the contact-pieces A as before, said contactpieces being connected as in Fig. 1 to the end-cells b of the battery B. According to this mode of operation, the generator G is permanently connected to the lighting-circuit L, as is also the fixed end of the battery; and that pole of the generator and discharge-circuit which is not connected to the fixed pole of the battery is connected by the lead 19 to the arm I as shown, so as to keep the effective voltage of the battery B constant with respect to the generator and discharge-circuit. The other two arms J and K are connected respectively by leads 21 and Q() to the terminals of a dynamo M of low voltage and large current, commonly called a booster, which serves to bring the end-cells up to voltage independently, and this can be done by shifting the arms J and K. The shifting-handles j and lc thereof must be of course so placed as not to interf fere with the movements of the arm I. To prevent the short-circuiting of the booster the movements of the arms J and K are relatively so limited that they cannot approach nearer to each other than two contact-spaces, this being accomplished by an insulated lug lc on the side of one arm, which strikes a projection j on the side of the other; the dotted-line position of the arm K indicates the limiting-position of the two arms.

In some cases it may be found desirable to work the two arms in fixed relation, say one or two end-cells apart from each other, with provision of means for varying the number of differential end-cells, or varying the fixed relation. This may be accomplished by the mechanical arrangements shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The two arms C5 and D, shown in these figures, may represent any of the arms shown in the preceding gures. The arms are shown as mounted upon an insulating-slab N, which carries also the contact-pieces A. A bearing-box O is secured in a hole in the slab N by means of screws 0, one of `which provided with an extra nut o serves as a terminal for making electrical connection to the arm C5. This arm has a tubular-journal c6, which turns in the bearing-box O, and within this journal is mounted a post l insulated therefrom by insulating collars p, and having its front end shaped as a pivot-pin for the arm D5. The two arms may be provided with suitable means for making good electrical contact with the pieces A, such for example as carbon blocks c7, d", seated in sockets in the ends of the arms, and pressed against the contact-pieces by springs cs, d10. The arm D5 is provided with a shifting-handle d, and on the opposite side of the pivot with a flanged-lug d, to which is secured in an insulated manner an arc-shaped piece Q provided on its periphery with a series of notches g corresponding in their positions to the spacing of the contact-pieces A. The arm C5 is provided with an extension 09 beyond the pivot, and this extension carries a housing 01, which acts as a bearing for a radially reciprocating bolt R, the end of which is pressed toward the arc Q., and into the notches thereof, by means of a spring r contained in the housing 01.

0n the end of the extension 09 is a bearing and a pivot-pin s, upon which is mount* ed in a pivotal manner a shifting-handle S, which is connected by links s2 to the end of the bolt R. The bolt R normally enters one of the notches Q, and locks the arm C5 fast in the desired relation to the arm D5, so that in shifting the discharging-arm, the charginglarm will be shifted with it to the requisite extent. To change the relative position of the arm C5, the handle S is tilted backward to the dotted-line position of Fig. 9, and then the arm shifted thereby to the desired position, and the bolt R dropped into the corresponding notch. A lug q limits the movement of the chargingarm in one direction, as shown.

The same construction as that shown in Figs. 7 and 8 can be readily applied to the three-arm construction of Fig. 7 by simply adding the eXtra arm thereto. In this case the three arms are designated I', J and K', corresponding with the arms I, J, and K of Fig. 7, respectively, and the wiring shown is the same as in that figure. The contactpieces A are mounted upon an insulating base N. The shortest arm K is provided with the tubular journal 7c the same as the journal c in Fig. 9, turning in the bearingboX O, which is secured to the base-plate N by screws 02, one of which has an eXtra nut 03 for making the electrical connection of the arm lc to the wire 20. Similarly the arm J has a tubular sleeve y'2 passing through the sleeve Ic and carrying on its end a nut jig for making connection with the wire 2l, said sleeve being insulated from the sleeve 7c.' by insulating collars jt.

rThe outermost arm I is mounted on the central pin l, which passes through the sleeve jz and is insulated therefrom by the collars p, carrying on its end a nut p for making connections with the wire 19. The uppermost arms z" and J have handles i and j mounted thereon, and the three arms are shown as provided with carbon blocks i and .7'5 and k which are Apressed against the contact-pieces A by springs i, j, and lcs.

rlhe arm J which corresponds to the arm D5 of Figs. S and 9,has its rear end extended and has mounted thereon,but insulated therefrom, a notched segment Q,similar to the segment Q; with this engages the tooth of a reciproeating bolt R', similar to the bolt R and pressed toward the arc Q and into the notch thereof by means of a spring r2, contained in the housing is" which is formed on the rearward extension las of the lever K, in the same manner as the housing 01 on the extension 09. The shifting-handle S pivoted at s and connected by the links s2 to the end of the bolt R are the same as in Figs. 8 and 9, operating in the same manner. The lug Q2 is provided to limit the movement of the charging arm in one direction, as before.

From the above description it will be readily seen that our invention is not limited to special forms and mechanical constructions such as we have hereinabove shown by way of illustration, but that the prin ciples thereof are expressible in a variety of ways as will be well understood by those g skilled in the art', therefore the scope of our claims is to be interpreted in view of such alternative construction.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A regulating-switch for storage-battery circuits comprising a set of contaet pieces adapted to be severally connected to the end-cells of the storage-battery, and a plurality of electrically insulated members adapted to move over said contact-pieces 1ndependently, one of which is adapted to be connected to one pole of the charging-circuit, and the other to one pole of the discharging-circuit, the position of one of said members being limited in one direction only with respect to the position of the other, whereby one of said members cannot be shifted beyond its limiting position in one direction without shifting the other also with it but can be shifted independently in the other direction.

2. In a storage-battery system of distribution, a battery, a generator and a dischargecircuit connected together at one pole of each, the battery being provided with a plurality of end-cells; in `combination with a regulating-switch having a set of contactpieces with which said end-cells are respectively connected, and two movable members adapted to make contact with said contactpieces, and one of which is connected to the free pole of said generator, and the other to the free pole of said discharge-circuit.

3. In a storage-battery system of distribution, a battery, a generator and a dischargecircuit connected together at one pole of each, the battery being provided with a plurality of end-cells; in combination with a regulating-switch having a set of contactpieces with which said end-cells are respectively connected, and two movable members adapted to make contact with said contactpieces, and one of which is connected to the free pole of said generator, and the other to the free pole of said discharge-circuit; one of said members being limited in position with respect to the other, whereby it cannot advance beyond its limiting position without carrying the other with it.

4. A regulating-switch for storage-battery circuits comprising a plurality of arms insulated from each other, a row of contactpieces with which all of said arms make contact, said contact-pieces being adapted to be connected to the respective end-cells of the storage-battery, one of said arms being limited in its movements with respect to another arm and means for locking two of said arms in a fixed relative position.

5. A regulating-switch for storage-battery circuits comprising a plurality of arms insulated from each other, and a row of contact-pieces with which all of said arms make contact, said contact-pieces being adapted to be connected to the respective end-'cells of the storage-battery, and means for locking one of said arms fast to another arm in successive relative positions with respect thereto, which are separated by the angle between successive contact-pieces.

G. In a regulating-switch, the combination of two contact-arms concentrically mounted upon a pivot and insulated from each other, contact-pieces disposed concentrically about said pivot with which they make contact, an arc mounted on one of said arms and having a plurality of notches corresponding in spacing to that of the contactpieces, a reciprocating-bolt mounted on the other arm and adapted to enter any of said notches, means normally maintaining said bolt in the notches, and a shifting-handle pivotally mounted on said second arm and connected with said bolt, whereby the latter may be withdrawn, and the arm shifted to a different position.

T. In a regulating-switch for storage-battery circuits, the combination of a set of contact-pieces adapted to be respectively connected to the several movable end-cells of the battery, and three contact-members guided to move over and make contact with said contact-pieces; two of said members being limited in position with respect to one another, and the third being independent of the other two.

8. In a storage-battery regulating-system, a generator, a discharge-circuit, and a battery having a plurality of movable endcells, one pole of each being connected together; in combination with a regulatingswitch having a set of contact-pieces, to which said end-cells are respectively connected, and three contact-arms moving over and making contact with said contactpieces; one of said contact-arms being independent in its movements of the other two and connected to the free pole of said generator and of said discharge-system; and a booster-dynamo having its opposite poles connected to the other two contact-arms, said contact-arms being limited in position with respect to one another.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of two witnesses.

JULIUS H. GUGLER. MARTIN LINDEM. lVitnesses J. C. PETERSON, GEORGE W. CoLLEs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

